MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT

Violence for 'tyrants' urged in Gov. Whitmer kidnap trial

Jurors have seen chilling social media posts written by two people charged in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor. They include a photo of a noose and a question: Which governor is going to be “dragged off and hung for treason first?” Another man expressed a willingness to die. Prosecutors are close to finishing their case in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They’re trying to show that four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 were committed to a plan without influence by informants or undercover agents. Barry Croft Jr., a trucker from Bear, Delaware, regularly vented on Facebook about public officials while they were issuing stay-home orders and other restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAKE RESCUE-MICHIGAN

Boy dies, woman hospitalized after being pulled from lake

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 4-year-old boy has died after he and a 33-year-old woman were pulled from a frigid Lansing-area lake. Meridian Township police say officers and firefighters were called to Lake Lansing about 9 a.m. Tuesday and saw the two in the water. The boy and woman were pulled from the lake. The boy was unresponsive and not breathing. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police said the woman was being treated Tuesday afternoon at the hospital. Police did not release their relationship. A kayak was found in the area of the rescue.

TROOPER SUSPENDED

Michigan trooper suspended for using force during stop

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan State Police trooper has been suspended after he allegedly used force during a traffic stop in Saginaw. The agency said in a news release that the trooper assigned to the Tri-City post in Freeland had pulled over a driver suspected of operating while under the influence Monday night. The news release Tuesday says “the MSP’s Professional Standards Section immediately began an internal investigation after becoming aware of citizen videos, which appear to show the trooper striking the face of the handcuffed suspect, circulating on social media."

TREE-TRIMMING DEATH

Tree-trimmer falls 60 feet to his death in western Michigan

CLAYBANKS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State Police say a commercial tree-trimmer has died after falling 60 feet to 70 feet (18.3 to 21.3 meters) feet from a tree. The man died at the scene in Claybanks Township west of Rothbury. The fall occurred around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. The 60-year-old man was from the Ovid area northeast of Lansing. Police haven't released his name. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

State to report COVID-19 data once per week as cases decline

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state plans to begin reporting Michigan’s COVID-19 data once per week as the numbers of cases and deaths decline. Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services says its online COVID-19 dashboard will be updated only on Wednesdays. Currently, data is posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but that changes starting Monday. Michigan has reported more than 2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32,758 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Between Saturday and Monday, 1,258 newly confirmed cases and six deaths were reported.

OBIT-PARSONS

Ex-Detroit Symphony CEO Anne Parsons dies after cancer fight

DETROIT (AP) — Former Detroit Symphony Orchestra chief Anne Parsons has died following a battle with cancer. She was 64. The DSO says Tuesday that Parsons’ husband, Donald Dietz, confirmed to the orchestra that she died Monday night. Most recently, Parsons was DSO president emeritus after serving from 2004 to 2021 as its president and chief executive. Under Parsons’ leadership, the orchestra posted nine consecutive operating surpluses from 2013 to 2021. She also was responsible for bringing Leonard Slatkin in 2007 and Jader Bignamini in 2020 to Detroit as music directors. The DSO says that touring and webcasts under Parsons also helped the orchestra return to national and international prominence.

DEER CULL-MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP

About 330 deer culled from select areas in Meridian Township

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — About 330 deer have been shot this year in one Lansing-area community. WLNS-TV reports Monday that the cull was part of Meridian Township’s Deer Management Program and is intended to reduce the deer population and the number of vehicle crashes involving deer. The cull by township police officers was to take place during evenings and overnight hours in select parks, land preserves and on private property where consent was given. Township Police Chief Ken Plaga says “targeted areas of culling herds have greatly reduced the danger of injury to people” in the community and costs resulting from property damage due to automobile crashes.

BOY-SCOUT-LEADER-CHARGES

Former Michigan troop leader arraigned on sex abuse charges

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A former troop leader has been arraigned on multiple charges that stemmed from Michigan’s review of child sexual abuse lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America. Mark Chapman appeared Monday in Roseville District Court on first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges. The 51-year-old Chapman is accused of sexually assaulting two boys at the time he was a scoutmaster in the Detroit suburb, where he also worked in and attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said that starting in 2000, one victim was abused at the church — where the troop sometimes met — and other places from the time he was 13 or 14 until he was 17.

UAW-CORRUPTION

Ex-UAW official pleads guilty to embezzling $2.2M from union

DETROIT (AP) — A former official at a suburban Detroit branch of the United Auto Workers has pleaded guilty to charges that he embezzled more than $2 million in union money. Federal prosecutors say 54-year-old Timothy Edmunds pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of embezzling union funds and money laundering. He was secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 412 from 2011 to 2021. Prosecutors say Edmunds “systematically drained” the local’s bank accounts of about $2.2 million by using the labor group’s credit cards for personal purchases, cashing local checks and transferring money into his accounts. Prosecutors said he gambled with the money and spent more on guns, cars and child-support payments.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022